Other teams outside of the top-10 in defensive efficiency last season also improved at that end of the floor this summer, specifically the Lakers, the Nuggets, the Hornets and the Warriors, but with their own defensive additions and a full year under Casey, the Raptors have given themselves a fighting chance to compete for a spot in that top-third of defensive measurement.
And that’s huge, because despite a perceived increase in importance on the offensive end, defence is still the name of the game. In fact, in the last 10 years, while an impressive 86 per cent of top-10 offences made the playoffs, a staggering 91 per cent of teams who finished in the top-10 (or tied for 10th) in defensive efficiency qualified for the post-season, and that number jumps to 94 per cent over the last five years (47 out of 50).
Taking the last three seasons into account, only one team has managed to miss the playoffs despite finishing with a top-10 defence (the 2010-11 Bucks).